Chapter 8 (4)

  "4 minutes and 67 seconds."

  Silence.

  Lin's father slowly unfolded his smile and said, "Alright, the county key school has been admitted." Lin's mother felt a stone in her heart fall to the ground, but still showed dissatisfaction, throwing out an unanswerable question: "Then why didn't you get more scores?" She had a habit of not solving things after they happened, but instead endlessly "what if" and "suppose", extending or distorting the matter. These were all manifestations of not daring to face reality, so she hid in her imagination.

  At this time, Lin's mother's friend and town mayor Zhao Zhi-liang called to ask about Yu Xiang's score. After inquiring clearly, he praised him directly. Lin's mother said casually: "What's good? We all want him to go to the municipal key school, but this kid only got into the county key school - and still self-funded."

  "The county key school is good, the county key school has no pressure, boys are fine, their potential will burst out in high school, and they will take the Tsinghua University exam in the future!"

  Zhao Zhiliang was drinking outside when a voice came from behind, overpowering his: "Key middle school in the city, Municipal South Third Middle School, haha, this is easy. Isn't that place recruiting sports students? What? Rain Athletics isn't good enough? Ah, you just don't understand. They say they're recruiting sports students and lowering scores, but actually, it's opening a backdoor to let people slip in. As long as the Sports Committee issues a certificate, you can grease some palms and get in for sure. Did you fill out your application for Municipal South Third Middle School? If it's your first choice, then it's easy to say."

  Lin's mother was drunk and said: "How can we get proof of his death?"

  Zhao Zhiliang answered this question and said "Hey" twice: "Do you know who the person was who just spoke?"

  "Who?"

  "Director of Physical Education Committee, Kim Bok-hwan."

  "Ah! This... Director Jin..."

  "You want to enter the city's key school, just say one sentence, Director Jin will take care of it."

  Mrs. Lin fell silent, deciding to consider how much truth there was in his words. After analyzing it, she thought half of it was due to drunkenness and the other half was bragging, so she just smiled and didn't take it seriously, lest she would be disappointed after holding onto hope. Mrs. Lin said lightly, "Thanks."

  The noise on Zhao Zhi Liang's end grew louder. Zhao Zhi Liang said, "Director Jin has something to say to you." These six words gradually faded away, indicating that the phone was moving further and further away from Zhao Zhi Liang. Jin Bo Huan let out a thunderous "Hello", which shocked Yu Xiang's small phone to the point where it couldn't take it anymore, letting out a buzzing noise.

  "Then come to the Sports Committee tomorrow, Zhao Zhi Liang's friend is my friend. You, prepare 40,000 to 50,000 yuan and it should be fine."

  ……

  The next day, Lin's family decided to go or not. Lin's father was afraid that Jin Bohuan would forget what he said the night before, and if they went, they would be speechless, which would be more embarrassing than wearing clothes inside out. Because wearing clothes inside out is only embarrassing for one person, while others can still enjoy it; but if Jin Bohuan forgot after thinking about it for a long time, it would be embarrassing for both parties. Lin's mother wanted to call Zhao Zhi-liang to confirm, but today was the day when many people were looking for jobs, so Zhao's phone was not available. They decided to take a chance and go to the Sports Committee office, which was located next to the stadium. Lin's father had contacted the person in charge of the stadium before, and the county newspaper had reported on it when the stadium was paved with grass a year ago. However, this time they came, the yellow soil was flying everywhere, and the grass was gone, replaced by strange rocks all over the field. Lin's father and mother walked along the way, looking very uncomfortable. When they entered the office of the Sports Committee, Jin Bohuan stood up to greet them, he looked as thin as a toothpick, and it was rare to see someone as thin as him among Chinese leaders. Jin Bohuan said with a hint of resentment in his tone, "Why did you come so late?"

  Lin's father and mother were shocked upon hearing the news. Lin's mother looked embarrassed and said, "Look at us this time, we came empty-handed, not even preparing..."

  "Hey, don't say that, I'm not that kind of person, friends should help out a bit. Zhao Zhi Liang said your son likes to play soccer, so his physical ability should be good, let's set a goal for the 1500 meter county sports meet at 4 minutes and 41 seconds, this way he can qualify as a third-level athlete, generally special recruitment will do. In the future, when Yu Xiang goes to participate in competitions, just try his best to run, if he can't run then pretend to be injured, no one will check anyway. Studying should keep up." Jin Bo Huan said while writing, then stamped it with a big seal, saying: "Zhao Zhi Liang is probably contacting the people in charge of admissions at Shi Nan No. 3 Middle School, when the time comes you should take action and make some moves, it should be almost guaranteed."

  Lin Mu was so moved by the help of so many kind-hearted people from all over the world that she almost knelt down.

  After returning home, Lin's mother thought that she should invite Jin Boguang to dinner first. Zhao Zhiliang called and told her that a principal of Sanzhong Middle School in Shini had agreed to bring the physical education certificate and admission number over soon. Lin's mother couldn't help but feel joyful, telling Yuxiang about letting him enter Sanzhong Middle School, and Yuxiang's hair stood on end upon hearing the name. Susan's first choice was Sanzhong Middle School, and this time heaven pitied her, allowing her wish to come true. Yuxiang excitedly ran out to congratulate himself. That night, Luo Tiancheng called again, starting with congratulations. Yuxiang suppressed his excitement, saying: "I did so poorly in the exam, what's there to congratulate?"

  "You don't know? The news is too closed off, and that Susan of yours was three points away from being a key student in the city, but she actually got into the county's key school! You two are really fated, the power of love can even make people stupid."

  Yu Xiang almost had his eyes popping out when he heard these few sentences. He also remembered that Luo Tiancheng had also had thoughts about Susan, perhaps it couldn't be described as "had" in the past tense, maybe it was still "having", listening to his tone didn't seem like a great enlightenment to save all sentient beings, so he said:

  "Who are you kidding? She can't even get into a key high school in the city, who else could?"

  He hung up after saying "forget it". This seemingly passive sentence can actually shock the other person, making them think that they can't just forget about it. Yuxiang called Shenqier to ask her to investigate the situation. Shenqier had been admitted to another municipal key school and was eager to help Yuxiang as she couldn't express her excitement anywhere else. Yuxiang said he wanted to know Susan's score, and Shenqier exclaimed, "You don't even know this?" Yuxiang thought that he was the only one in the world who didn't know, so he quickly asked. Shenqier said, "You're not concerned about her at all, I won't tell you!"

  Yu Xiang didn't have the time to entangle with this person who was in an exceptionally good mood. Several times he pressed for answers, but they were all unfruitful. Yu Xiang was like a dog gnawing on a bone, if one place wouldn't work, he would change his approach and add more force: "You'd better say it, otherwise——" Each word that Yu Xiang spoke was as hard as it could be, enough to withstand Tyson's punches, with the spirit of a warrior. The content after "otherwise" was the "attack the heart first" of the classic military tactics - intentionally not saying the result, letting the listener imagine what would happen next, such as killing someone and burning their body, dividing it into five parts... As soon as the opponent's psychological defense was broken, they would confess without a fight. But for someone who was extremely happy, even if his whole family died and he was left alone, it might not be enough to kill his excitement. Yu Xiang's intimidation was driven away by Shen Xi'er's laughter, disappearing into thin air. Despite using every trick in the book, Yu Xiang still couldn't win. Logically speaking, when a dog gnaws on a bone and uses up all its energy without making progress, it will give up and leave. But with sincerity and determination, even metal and stone can be opened... not to mention bones.

  Yu Xiang changed his tone and said gloomily: "I've always wanted to know her results, but I've been waiting for her call. I didn't wait, I'm really anxious, please tell me."

  Shen Creek was deeply moved by Yu Xiang's sincerity and spoke the truth: "Susan, she was only three points away from being a key student, how could she end up like this? It's really unexpected. You comfort her, maybe you'll still be schoolmates."